Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last year, on 15 September 2015, the member for Wentworth was sworn in as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia. I have to say that even I, as a member of the Australian Labor Party for over 30 years and entrenched in Labor politics, felt a glimmer of hope. I thought that the attitude of this place was going to change, the three-word slogans were going to be out the window—that there was going to be a clear plan for Australia and perhaps a Prime Minister that may leave a legacy behind that this place is better after he left than when he came. But how disappointed was I, and how disappointed were the thousands and millions of Australians around this nation?

To mark the one-year anniversary, we are witnessing one headline after another—and what are those headlines? Every major paper across this country is asking the same question: what has the Prime Minister achieved? The answer, quite unanimously, appears to be: not much. Whether you are listening to reporters on the TV, in newspaper articles or on the radio, the answer is unanimous—and it appears to be: not too much.

It must be a real concern for the government when their very own former Victorian Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett, who has held executive positions on their national body and on their state body in Victoria, when asked in a television interview, was not able to name one achievement—not one.

What does it say about the coalition government's confidence in its leader when not even the Deputy Prime Minister can come up with an answer? When he was asked by Barrie Cassidy on ABC's Insiders what their best achievements were, the only answer he could come up with was that they had won the last election. This must be really concerning for the Liberal Party, the coalition and the government.

It is also concerning that the Senate today ran out of work to do, and the senators were reduced to talking about all sorts of absolutely unrelated things just to fill in time. Not only that, last week they all decided to go home early. Australians see this. It is reflected in the polls that coincide with the one-year anniversary, which show that the Prime Minister's approval ratings were lower than the Labor leader's.

So what, exactly, has the Prime Minister achieved in 12 months? Well, for one, he has sorely disappointed his supporters by not being able to take a stance on many important policies. On so many issues such as climate change, health care and education, the PM is following the right-wing fringe of his party instead of leading the country. It is like they are riding a horse and they have the reins in their hands and they turn his head and direct him in any which way they wish. He has threatened our education system by saying you could make a very powerful case for the federal government to stop funding public schools. We know that he still plans to cut Medicare. He still plans to give a $50 billion tax cut to big business and the banks. These are his achievements. He refuses to stand up and protect penalty rates and he has also learned nothing from the brutal election results, where he lost a number of seats.

The Prime Minister must understand that these policies hurt real people. They hurt people in our electorates; they hurt the Australian public. They have an impact on local jobs and local schools, and the ability of people to access basic services. The overwhelming feeling in the community is one of great disappointment and, as I said, I share that feeling. Motherhood statements are not actions. Getting up and performing opera in this place for your fans on the other side is not governing. Unless those statements are followed up with policy, action, conviction and leadership, they are just empty words.

I am worried about the future. The Prime Minister made promises to the good constituents in my electorate and Australia. We have seen many things in his first year: setting up the Medicare privatisation task force and cutting $650 million from bulk-billing incentives for pathology services. As I said, he wants to give big business a $50 billion tax cut while at the same time cutting from those lower— (Time expired)

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